New plan aims to protect coastline from sea rise
Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson it’s THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH
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San Diego has a new plan to protect miles of coastline from sea-level rise
More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
ON THE FLIGHT DECK OF THE U-S-S MIDWAY MUSEUM, FIREFIGHTERS WILL GATHER TODAY TO COMMEMORATE THE 24TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPTEMBER 11TH TERRORIST ATTACKS
THE CEREMONY STARTS ABOARD THE SHIP AT 2:30 PM AND WILL INCLUDE THE READING OF THE 441 NAMES OF 1ST RESPONDERS WHO DIED IN THE ATTACKS
THE CEREMONY WILL ALSO FEATURE A SAN DIEGO FIRE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER FLYOVER, 21-GUN SALUTE AND A TAPS HARBOR POLICE FIREBOARD WATER DISPLAY
ADMISSION TO THE MUSEUM FOR THE EVENT IS FREE BETWEEN 1:45 AND 3 PM
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WE BROUGHT YOU THE STORY LAST MONTH REGARDING A PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO BRING METERED PARKING TO A PORTION OF SAN DIEGO’S BALBOA PARK
WELL, THAT HAS NOW BEEN PAUSED AND IS HEADING BACK TO CITY STAFF FOR REVIEW AFTER SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS REJECTED IT ON TUESDAY
WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROUTINE SECOND READING TURNED INTO A REBUKE OF PAID PARKING BY COUNCIL MEMBERS STEPHEN WHITBURN AND VIVIAN MORENO
THE COUNCIL IS LOOKING AHEAD TO SEPT. 15 TO TAKE UP THE ISSUE AGAIN.
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OPPONENTS OF A PROPOSED EAST COUNTY SAND MINE ARE CELEBRATING WHAT COULD BE A FINAL VICTORY THIS WEEK (Wednesday). THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DENIED AN APPEAL BY THE PROJECT’S DEVELOPER TO EXTRACT SAND FROM THE COTTONWOOD GOLF COURSE. THE VOTE WAS UNANIMOUS.
THE GROUP STOP COTTONWOOD SAND MINE SAYS SINCE 20-18, AREA RESIDENTS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS OVER THE PROJECT’S POTENTIAL IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH, TRAFFIC, NOISE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
FORMER COUNTY SUPERVISOR DIANNE JACOB SPOKE AT THE MEETING.
SANDMINE 2A (:14)
“Ive been a part of many land use hearings. In my decades of experience I can tell you I have never seen such a destructive project with such negative impacts on the people who live in a community.
DEVELOPER COTTONWOOD CAJON L-L-C DECLINED TO COMMENT AFTER THE VOTE.
IN AN EARLIER STATEMENT THEY SAID THE PROJECT WOULD CREATE NEARLY 150 ACRES OF OPEN SPACE. AND THE LOCAL SOURCE OF CONSTRUCTION SAND WOULD HELP OFFSET COSTS FOR HOUSING AND CREATE HUNDREDS OF JOBS.
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO HAS A NEW PLAN TO PROTECT SEVERAL MILES OF COASTLINE FROM SEA LEVEL RISE. ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SAYS IT’S IN RESPONSE TO INCREASING RISKS OF SEVERE FLOODING AND EROSION.
RESILIENCE 1 trt: 52 soq
San Diego city leaders approved what they say is a landmark plan to protect the coast from sea level rise.
It’s called the Coastal Resilience Master Plan and it would raise dunes, enhance trails and shift parking lots away from the coast. It would start in Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and Sunset Cliffs.
San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava says the plan is about resiliency and...
RESILIENCE 1 (00:10)
“Ensuring that we protect our natural recreation areas and protecting our investments in public infrastructure, private property. What we had yesterday won’t be there tomorrow unless we take action today.”
Some residents who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting say changes could improve access to the coastline but others worry how they will impact neighborhoods.
The city used more than $1 million in state and federal grant funds to produce the plan. Next steps include traffic and environmental studies and getting public feedback. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
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A NEW “SUPERMARKET” CELEBRATED ITS GRAND OPENING WEDNESDAY IN NORTH COUNTY … AND IT ONLY SERVES HOMELESS AND WORKING POOR CUSTOMERS.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN EXPLAINS.
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BENNOSGROCERY 1(an) TRT: 0:50 SOQ
NATS people stocking shelves
It looks like your neighborhood supermarket.
NATs more stocking
… and it feels like one … down to the shopping carts.
And that’s the point.
NATS ribbon cutting, people coming into the store.
This is Brother Benno’s new 14-hundred square foot food distribution center.
Paul McNamara is Brother Benno’s executive director. He says the Indoor Market offers a dignified shopping experience to the people they serve.
“It sends a signal that Brother Benno’s cares.”
Brian Cecil (seh-sil) says he has been homeless for the past 13 months.
When I come here, I don't, I don't get the ugly looks that I normally get.”
He was shopping at the store on Wednesday.
“I mean everything from salads, fruits, different kinds of cheeses. Pastries — got to have the sweets, breads, vegetables.”
Wednesday’s opening was ceremonial… they started serving customers last month. AN/KPBS
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GLOBAL AVOCADO PRODUCTION IS UP. THE COUNTRIES OF MOROCCO, BRAZIL AND EVEN NIGERIA ARE TRYING TO CASH IN ON THE DEMAND FOR THIS BELOVED FRUIT. BUT HERE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY - ONE OF THE LARGEST PRODUCERS OF AVOCADOS IN THE WORLD - FEWER AND FEWER ARE BEING GROWN.
JOHN CARROLL REPORTS WHY:
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AVOTROUBLES 1 : SOQ
SOT (9887) 8:36:35 - 36:43
I'm Jennifer Bantle. I am a 14 year avocado farmer. My husband and I run a 12 acre farm in Fallbrook.
TRACK:
Jennifer Bantle says she and her husband Kurt thought the farm was going to be a good investment.
SOT (9887) 8:38:20 - 38:31
CG: Jennifer Bantle/Avocado farmer
“But we learned the trees were too tall. We had to stump the trees and start all over again, which meant waiting seven years for a full crop.”
TRACK:
Bantle says that’s when they realized Kurt would have to keep his job as a wireless engineer to afford farming.
And time was not the only challenge.
((SOME KIND OF WATER/IRRIGATION NATS HERE))
TRACK:
Avocado trees need a lot of water to stay healthy…
An average avocado… just one piece of fruit, not a whole tree… takes 70 to 80-gallons of water to grow. And water has been getting more expensive for years. In 2019, the Bantles paid four-dollars 42 cents per 1,000 gallons… This year, the agricultural water rate in the Fallbrook Public Utility District is five-dollars 83 cents per 1,000 gallons.
SOT (9887) 8:43:18 - 43:25
“I’ve already had to cut down 180 trees just recently because I can’t afford the water anymore.
TRACK:
And Bantle’s not alone. Whether they were cut down or farmers just stopped watering them, data from the University of California shows total acreage of avocado trees in the county dropped from roughly 26,000 acres in 2008 - to about 13,000 acres by last year. The report lists a variety of reasons why, including the spread of urban development.
SOT (9887) 8:43:24 - 43:49
“It’s really depressing. So I get really emotional about this because I’m so involved with my farm. I am the one doing a lot of the work. I’m the one pruning the trees, I’m the one throwing the wood and I’m a two-time cancer survivor and I have a lot of years, my good years that have been put into this.”
TRACK:
And there’s the problem of labor - hiring enough people to pick the fruit. Some farms qualify for the H2A visa program that allows non-American citizens to work here legally.
SOT (10019) 16:12:55 - 13:00
“If we wouldn’t have these H2A guys, this grove would not be picked by now.”
TRACK:
Serafin Michel is the farm manager at ACA Groves in Valley Center. He’s worked here since he was a teenager… more than 50 years now. He says due to immigration crackdowns by the Trump Administration, it’s now more difficult than ever to hire workers.
SOT (10019) 16:13:01 - 13:06 - 13:34
CG: Serafin Michel/ACA Groves manager
“A lot of my neighbors are… they’re dropping the fruit because there ain’t no local workers… //CUT TO 16:13:10// Most of the big ranches around this area is gone because of the water prices is killing us, the labor is killing us, the avocados from Mexico and Peru and all these other places, they’re shipping avocados to the United States, they drop our price down. We have no chance to survive, no chance… and now with the labor, it’s even worse.”
TRACK:
But qualifying for the H2A visa program isn’t easy. It involves a lot of factors and qualifications that some farms can’t or won’t meet. Beyond that, Bantle says - simply hiring workers these days is getting tougher.
SOT (9887) 8:48:38 - 48:52
“It’s getting frightening. It’s scary because we’re having to be coached on what to do if immigration comes to your farm and, what do you say to them? And I’m like really? Is this really happening?”
TRACK:
For the Bantles, it’s all getting to be too much. They’ve entered into a county program called PACE - the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement. It pays small farmers to permanently designate their property for agricultural use only…both to preserve farmland and to reduce greenhouse gases..
SOT (9887) 8:55:59 - 56:12
“So, I’ll be allowed to build a house and an ADU and a farm or a winery, but I can’t develop it. So that’s going to limit my resale value.”
The county has a goal of getting 443 acres set aside every year…and says so far, it has preserved more than three-thousand acres. JC KPBS News.
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SAN DIEGO POLITICAL LEADERS TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA WEDNESDAY TO EXPRESS THEIR HORROR AT THE KILLING OF TURNING POINT U-S-A LEADER CHARLIE KIRK IN UTAH. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL ALSO HAS THIS STORY.
CHARLIEKIRK 1:00 SOC
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA POSTED THIS MESSAGE TO X– RIP Charlie Kirk. Please keep his family in your hearts today.
DEMOCRATS FROM SAN DIEGO’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION ALL POSTED ON “X” AS WELL.. SAYING THEY CONDEMN THE VIOLENCE.
REPRESENTATIVE SARA JACOBS HAD THIS TO SAY.. QUOTE.. I fully condemn this shooting. It adds to the feeding frenzy of political violence in our country, which makes all of us less safe and scares us into submission and silence.
REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLYMEMBER CARL DEMAIO ALSO ISSUED A STATEMENT ABOUT THE SHOOTING.
IT ENDED WITH, QUOTE, “As Americans, we must recommit to civility, respect, and the protection of free speech.”
TURNING POINT USA HAS CHAPTERS AT SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY AND U-C SAN DIEGO.
KPBS HAS REACHED OUT FOR COMMENT AND HAS NOT YET HEARD BACK.
JOHN CARROLL, KPBS NEWS.##########
THIS WEEK, THE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL TOOK AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD CHARGING FOR PARKING AT THE ZOO. FOR OUR WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO CEO SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS HOW WE GOT HERE.
VOSDZOO 1 (public matters) TRT 1:17 last words “why it matters”
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Visitors to the San Diego Zoo spent more than $570 million in the region last year.
Now the city and Zoo want them to spend a bit more. For many years, they have been able to park their cars for free. That’s going to change.
To understand what’s going on, you have to go back to 1979.
That’s when the Zoo signed its current lease with the city.
The lease allows the Zoo to charge for parking. But it has a big rule: they can’t charge different amounts if someone is a zoo member, buys a ticket, or is a San Diego resident.
The zoo wants to change this because the city will soon begin charging for parking in Balboa Park. It would be super awkward if the Zoo’s parking lot remained free.
So that’s what happened this week. The San Diego City Council simply agreed to allow the Zoo to come up with a plan to offer different parking rates to different people.
In exchange, city officials and Zoo leaders have agreed to share some of that money with the city. The City Council passed its budget assuming $3 million would come from parking at the Zoo and more than $15 million would come from Balboa Park.
So they are motivated to move quickly. They won’t hit their goals if they don’t start by October 1st.
I’m Scott Lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing by doing so you are supporting public media and I thank you for that. Have a great day!
